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Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

Rusted cans lay abandoned at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

Rusted cans lay abandoned at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Rusted equipment lays abandoned at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

Rusted equipment lays abandoned at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow stands in front of the remains of a building at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow stands in front of the remains of a building at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

A rusted vehicle lays abandoned at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

A rusted vehicle lays abandoned at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

A rusted vehicle lays abandoned at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

A rusted vehicle lays abandoned at the site of the Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow walks past the remains of the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine site in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow walks past the remains of the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine site in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

The entrance to the main shaft at the Copper Mountain Mine site sits hollow and silent in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

The entrance to the main shaft at the Copper Mountain Mine site sits hollow and silent in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

A sign placed atop the main shaft at the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine site warns visitors of danger in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

A sign placed atop the main shaft at the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine site warns visitors of danger in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

A sign placed atop the main shaft at the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine site warns visitors of danger in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

A sign placed atop the main shaft at the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine site warns visitors of danger in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

A sign placed at the entrance to the main mine shaft for the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine warns of high radiation in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

A sign placed at the entrance to the main mine shaft for the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine warns of high radiation in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow enters a canyon at the bottom of a valley beneath the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow enters a canyon at the bottom of a valley beneath the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

The light from sunset begins to strike a canyon in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

The light from sunset begins to strike a canyon in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

The light from sunset begins to strike the land alongside the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

The light from sunset begins to strike the land alongside the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

The light from sunset begins to strike the land alongside the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

The light from sunset begins to strike the land alongside the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow looks out over the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow looks out over the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

The light from sunset strikes a pool of water in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

The light from sunset strikes a pool of water in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

The light from sunset causes the esplanade level to glow at the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

The light from sunset causes the esplanade level to glow at the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

An entrance to a mine shaft at the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine sits empty and silent in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

An entrance to a mine shaft at the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine sits empty and silent in the Parashant National Monument in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow looks out over the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow looks out over the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

The light from sunset begins to strike the land alongside the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

The light from sunset begins to strike the land alongside the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

The remains of a building lay in disarray at the site of the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

The remains of a building lay in disarray at the site of the abandoned Copper Mountain Mine in the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow looks out over the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

Backpacker and Grand Canyon through hiker Rich Rudow looks out over the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

The light from sunset begins to strike the land alongside the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County. Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

Mining near the Grand Canyon: The uranium boom and costly aftermath

The light from sunset begins to strike the land alongside the Parashant National Monument wilderness in Mohave County.
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic

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The Trump administration wants to revitalize the nation's nuclear energy sector with a plan that calls for stockpiling domestic uranium and opening public lands to new uranium mining. Environmentalists, at least one Arizona tribe and a nuclear energy expert quickly pushed back on the plan.

Citing both national security interests and domestic needs, the group’s proposals aim to revitalize the nation’s uranium sector using a variety of methods. Among them: purchasing uranium produced in the U.S. to create a stockpile over a 10-year period with a $1.5 billion fund; investing in research and development of new reactor technology, including a deployable micro-nuclear reactor for the military sector; and prohibiting purchases from Russia and China.

But environmentalists and tribes were most alarmed at a strategy they had expected and dreaded: “streamlining” regulations to allow access to public lands that hold uranium reserves.

The report did not specifically point to the area surrounding Arizona's Grand Canyon as a possible area to open or re-open mining operations, but most uranium deposits are found in the western U.S., according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and several existing mines have operated near the Canyon.

About 1 million acres surrounding the Canyon are closed to new mining claims, but industry officials and some local leaders have been lobbying the White House to lift the ban and allow new mining, touting the economic benefits and jobs for nearby communities.

The working group report seemed to take aim at some of the rules that require environmental and tribal reviews of mines. The report noted that mining companies are required to comply with stringent licensing and permitting procedures that often require interaction with multiple federal and regulatory agencies.

Prospective mines located on federal lands also must undergo a comprehensive review under what’s known as the NEPA, or National Environmental Policy Act, as well as an assessment required by the National Historic Preservation Act. Local tribes whose ancestral lands would be affected by a project are also part of the consultation process.

The working group wrote that these procedures impede the licensing process and calls for streamlining many of these reviews and otherwise smooth the way to resume uranium mining.

Canyon Mine sits six miles from Grand Canyon and could begin producing ore soon.(Photo: Kaibab National Forest)

Environmentalists condemn the report

Conservation groups swiftly condemned the report.

“Enriching special interests with taxpayer resources so they can plunder national treasures like Bears Ears and the Grand Canyon will harm our land, water and public health,” said America Fitzpatrick, senior government relations representative of The Wilderness Society. “To do so in the face of a global pandemic is an abuse of public trust.”

Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club in Arizona, said opening public lands to more mining would endanger the health of people in the region at a time when they're dealing with other threats.

“Many families that are living with uranium mining’s toxic legacy are also right now bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the Navajo Nation,” she said. “Propping up the already languishing uranium mining industry will inevitably further risk public health.”

Amber Reimondo, energy program director for the Grand Canyon Trust, said the proposal "runs counter to logic and lessons learned, and gives uranium-mining companies an easier pass to profit from our public lands while risking lives and livelihoods for generations to come. The Grand Canyon region is the last place we should mine uranium.”

During a press conference organized by the public affairs firm STG on behalf of the Grand Canyon Trust and other environmental group, George Washington University professor Sharon Squassoni said national security is often used as a rationale to justify government projects that would otherwise be unjustifiable.

She said the public should be concerned about recommendations to restore America's dominance of the nuclear industry through what she called an expensive boondoggle.

This uranium mine, photographed in 2011, is located north of Grand Canyon National Park on the Arizona Strip.(Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)

"This report is chock full of ideas to spend billions of dollars from fancy test reactors to trying to steal away Chinese and Russian nuclear customers," said Squassoni, an expert in nuclear proliferation, arms control and security policy.

She pointed to Pakistan and Iran as current customers for Russian and Chinese uranium. "These are not countries that we want to be exporting to," she said. "So, in fact, I think this plan would harm our national security.

"In the end, I think the plan is unwise, unworkable and unaffordable."

The proposals also go against the grain of western voters, who oppose mining on public lands. The annual “State of the Rockies” poll conducted by Colorado College found that 71% of those polled oppose uranium mining in the region surrounding the Grand Canyon.

Legislators and a tribal leader weigh in

The set of proposals drew immediate support from some lawmakers and industry leaders.

“There is no reason the United States should be importing over 90% of the uranium necessary for domestic reactors from hostile countries like China and Russia when we have an ample supply here at home,” said Rep Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., in an emailed statement.

“Domestic uranium production would create many good-paying jobs, especially right here in Arizona."

He argued that the U.S. has some of the strictest environmental and labor standards in the world.

"We can develop these bountiful resources and conserve our environment at the same time," Gosar said.

Mark S. Chalmers, president and CEO of Energy Fuels, a Canadian firm that owns the Canyon Mine southeast of Tusayan, agreed with Gosar.

"We are extremely pleased that the U.S. government has expressed such a strong commitment to supporting domestic uranium mining and nuclear fuel capabilities,” he said in a release. “It is our belief that this report is the first step toward reversing a multi-decade trend, where the U.S. has ceded global nuclear leadership to Russia, China and other geopolitical challengers.”

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva speaks at the Grand Canyon on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. Grijalva, D-Arizona, was at the Grand Canyon to announce his Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, which would permanently ban uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.(Photo: Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic)

But Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., who has fought to halt new uranium mining near the Canyon, warned of the consequences of the working group's plan.

“The Trump administration wants uranium mining near the Grand Canyon without even minimal public oversight, and it doesn’t care about the consequences," said Grijalva, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, in a statement. "If these recommendations are followed, we’ll pay a terrible environmental and public health price — and there won’t be any public discussion about whether we need to change course.”

In 2012, the Obama administration banned new uranium mining claims on about 1 million acres of public lands surrounding the Grand Canyon.

Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., did not respond to a request for comment by The Republic.

Mark Kelly, a Democrat seeking to unseat McSally in November, insisted there was no need to roll back protections near the Canyon.

"The Grand Canyon is a treasure not just for Arizona, but for the planet, and we should continue to protect this area from uranium mining while cleaning up the abandoned mines that continue to cause public health issues in Northern Arizona,” said Kelly via email. “We can improve our energy independence and expand our use of carbon-free energy sources without opening up the Grand Canyon region to uranium mining."

Obstacles remain for new mining

The push to reopen uranium mining may not happen as fast as some would like. While the report was being released, uranium workers at Cameco Corporation’s mine in northern Saskatchewan were told their pay would be cut 25% starting May 1 due to a sharp decrease in sales which led to a temporary operations halt.

Cameco is the world’s largest publicly-traded mining operation, according to its website. The Canadian-owned firm has mining operations in both Canada and the U.S.

Squassoni also said that opening up new mines or allowing currently-developed mines like the Canyon Mine, won't happen overnight.

Moves to expand uranium mines in northern Arizona would meet with strong opposition from tribes with ancestral lands in the region. Large areas of the Navajo Nation were poisoned by uranium mines in the 1950s and after the mining companies abandoned the sites, ground and water were found to be contaminated.

The Canyon Mine, built to extract uranium, sits idle about 6 miles southeast of Tusayan on the Kaibab National Forest, not far from Grand Canyon National Park.(Photo: Mark Henle/The Republic)

"Uranium mining around the Grand Canyon threatens to contaminate the aquifer, and thus Havasu Creek, which is our sole source of public water supply in the village of Supai," said Havasupai Vice Chairman Matthew Putesoy. "But most importantly, this water played a vital role in our religion and culture. Water is so essential to our way of life and that's why we call ourselves Havasu Baaja, the people of the blue-green water."

Putesoy said if their water becomes contaminated by the uranium mine, it would be devastating to the community. "It would force us into an impossible dilemma: stay in our homelands in the canyon and become sick, or leave our home and abandon our traditional way of life."

The mine also imperils the Havasupai people's cultural tie to what they call the abdomen of Mother Earth: Red Butte. It's where the first Havasupai people, as well as the animals, were born, he said.

"That umbilical cord is tied from Red Butte to the universe," he said. "If the mining starts, that umbilical cord that ties us all together will be severed."

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and at @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.